Hello on a friday! Have fun reading and enjoy the weekend!
We hadn't had luck at all. Not even a little squirrel. There was nothing around, no little house, cottage or tent. As if we had arrived in no-man's-land. And the sign would say: Welcome to No-Man's-Land where you starve to death and live forever. I laughed lowly. That's what my brother would have said but he stood quiet. Eventually we sat at the bus again and my stomach growled.
"Almost like a walker." Carl joked next to me. His laugh sounded week.
"Don't stab me." I joined his laughter and remembered the time we had been in the tunnels of the prison together and he had almost shot me. Carl seemed to read my thoughts and smiled. "Those were the days my friend."
Suddenly Judith cried and Carl stood up to look after her. "Duty is calling." He bid goodbye with a smile and went over to Maggie who had been taking care of the little girl since the others had left. But that hadn't lighten her mood either. I couldn't stand to see the lost expression on her face anymore. I thought she had been better after our little talk.
You had been wearing the same. At prison when Daryl had left with Merle. She helped you to find your way out of your damn shell. Now it's your turn to be her friend in need. And don't think she is better just because of your little speech. She lost the last living relative.
But it felt as if she needed more time. Even Glenn couldn't make her smile.
She just lost her sister and now you guys are on the road again. No home, no walls, no safety. Let her grieve for God's sake. You said she is your sister, now your duty calls. He emphasized the last words.
I stood up to walk over to Maggie but saw Merle sitting on the hood, his back resting on the windshield. He was fumbling on his arm or more specifically on his stump-knife. "The little Sheriff 's got a crush on ya." Was it a questions or a statement?
I rolled my eyes. "So you got a new knife." I looked at his stump. The knife looked sharp and shiny.
"Came pretty handy when I was alone on the road." He turned to me swinging his legs to the side of the car to face me.
"Did you kill him?"
Quick like a shot.
"No." Merle shot back. "Hadn't had the chance."
"Good." I stated firmly and Merle raised an eyebrow at me. His expression rather disgusted then surprised. "Because that's my job." I didn't know if I would be strong enough to kill him, but it didn't matter, he was already dead to me.
Oh please …
Merle's expression changed to a perplex one. "What?" He laughed at me but his laughter died quickly. "When I look at ya now I almost believe ya." Again he looked me up and down. I hadn't seen myself in quite a while and I wasn't eager to see me. All the reactions I had from people looking at me told me the story I already knew. My nose didn't look the same, my lips had been cut, my hair was definitely a mess – a brush was a luxury article in the apocalypse – and the rest of me was stuck in dirty clothes with long sleeves to hide scars and pain.
"He tore my heart out … he lied … he made me believe …" I clenched my fist. "He will to pay for that."
"I expected this shit rather coming out of my mouth." Merle stated.
"What happened?" I hadn't heard the whole story yet.
"After ya went with this Paul guy he wanted to follow. I held him back. There was a little …" He seemed to be thinking of a word. "… brawl …" He grinned teasingly. "Afterwards we waited and eventually went outside. I saw signs of a fight on the ground, but couldn't follow, there were too many tracks. I had no idea where to go." My heartbeat deafened my ears. He hadn't known where to go … hadn't he followed at least one track? Had they even tried? "We found tracks of a car nearby … footprints and so on …" He sighed deeply. "There was no clue of ya damn ass." I looked to the ground but Merle's next question made me look up again. "Did another governor shit happen?" Helpless honesty mirrored his eyes. And guilt.
At first I froze holding my breath. "Look at me …" I let out a deep sigh. "There is nothing left of … this is just a leftover of what used to be me. But life goes on, right?!" I looked at his stump. "It just goes on, 'cause what else is there left to do?" The words hang heavy in the air.
Even his face was stone cold, his eyes showed me his pained soul. It was the same glance Daryl had. Daryl … where had he gone? I looked around to not see him nowhere. The moment I turned to go look for him, Merle jumped from the car and joined my walk. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
We walked next to each other. "So you guys just split?" I veered off.
"He went crazy, said it was all my fault." Merle spat to the ground. "Damn, I would 've killed him." His voice was all poison. "But I thought ya would kill me for that." A short dull laugh escaped his lips. "After our little disagreement he took his things and left. When I woke I was alone."
"Woke up?" I remembered Jess had been a thug. Before our relationship he had been quite a bad boy. I had kind of loved that about him, the bad guy attitude who turned out to be soft on the inside.
You got bad taste in men. I always hated that guy …
Merle stopped walking and nodded to our right where Daryl came out of the woods. When he saw us too he shook his head. It was now that I became aware that I was hungry. My stomach growled again and forgot what Merle and I had talked about. Daryl started to talk to Rosita who was sharpening her weapon.
"Where do they come from?" I followed Merle's glance. His eyes wandered from Rosita to Eugene.
"After the prison Glenn ran into them. They had helped each other. There is a whole story behind that wussy." I nodded to Eugene. "The tall one is kinda alright. Don't know about the women."
Merle pointed to Tara. "She looks familiar." He scratched his head. His hair had grown longer, not as long as Daryl's and had curled a bit.
I didn't want him to hate her so I just shrugged my shoulders. Someone would tell him at some point, but right now we didn't need another quarrel. "She came with Glenn."
You think not telling him is better than someone telling him later? Like you wanted to tell Daryl about Jess and never did …
"Man, that china man can't get enough." I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to tell him he is Korean but Merle nudged me. "I know he is Korean."
"You just can't stop it, can you?!" I smiled. My smile was gone the minute my stomach growled. I wished for a sandwich, with melting cheese … I shook my head. That thought made me even hungrier.
Judith started to scream again she must be hungry too. Daryl walked over to Carl who was holding his sister tight, swaying carefully from side to side. Maggie and Tara stood close, Tara offered a bottle of water. Carl took it to let Judith drink, but she didn't. "She needs something to eat." Daryl took the last food can out of his bag. I knew there was nothing left but one can of damn mangos.
You would kill for canned mangos right now. My brother was right. There won't be canned food forever. You have to find a place again, maybe at the beach. You could be fishermen, eat the fish. Or some other place where you could keep dear and other animals to eat. You have to stay positive and think logical. You have to survive.
Suddenly Rosita gave a short whistle and I turned around. There were a few walkers. Merle smiled at me. "Duty 's calling." He checked his knife-stump while the both of us joined Rosita.
"We have to kill them together. One stabs and the others back up. Like kill and charge." She told us while her eyes seemed to count the walkers. With her military outfit and now these words she really looked like someone from the army. I grabbed my knife. "Ready?" She looked from me to Merle and I nodded. I stabbed the first one, stepped back while Merle took the one to our right down. Rosita flanked out left side. Daryl and Carol did the same to our left side. Daryl had his hunting knife ready while Carol held a short knife. After a few moments we had killed a bunch. Just one was left. Rosita took care of that one by throwing her knife into its skull. When she went to get her knife I saw Lara Croft coming alive. I almost heard the theme song.
Are you talking of the movie or the game?
I laughed lowly. But my laughter stopped when I saw the people around me. They were all exhausted and hungry. Merle hadn't been fit and was sweating again. Only Rosita looked as if she had never done anything else under these circumstances.
Now you push away all the prejudices? I told you they all deserve a place in this group. All for each and each for all!
"Thanks!" I told Rosita who looked at me like she would spat into my face. The same glance had been on Michonne's face when we had first met. I smiled about that fact. "You're pretty good with that." I pointed to the knife she had just thrown into the walker's skull.
She sniffed and looked at the bloody knife in my hand. "You're good with that too." Then she nodded over to Merle. "And with that one."
"I had some time to get to know him."
Her features smoothed. "I thought you were the troublemaker of this group." She put away her knife. She strapped it to her thigh, just like my knife was strapped to my thigh. "But you are far more of a bad ass." The word bad ass echoed in my body and my eyes found Daryl and Merle again. When I looked at Rosita, she was smiling but her eyes had an icy touch.
I joined her smile. "I've quite something on the ball." I remembered how I had almost gone for Eugene's throat when they had told us about Washington … or better the lie. She had pulled him back ungently, out of my reach but she didn't seem so happy about the lie either. Finally Rosita nodded and walked over to Abraham.
We all gathered around the burned-out fire. It was warm, so the fire hadn't been necessary at all. We had no meat to cock over the fire. It was silent – again. Daryl told us about his hunt, there had been really nothing. "As if we had been cursed." I stared at the leftover burnt branches.
Daryl turned to me slightly. "There ain't nothing like that."
Merle laid back snickering. "But monsters under the bed."
Daryl raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are ya talking about?"
Merle just grinned and closed his eyes. "There ain't no beds." I told them. Daryl wasn't all kisses and smiles. He looked from Merle to me and back to his brother. Again there was something behind his eyes. "My brother used to check for monsters under the bed when I was young. In our last hideout Merle was the bigger brother and checked under the bed I slept on."
When you were young? You mean younger … like some years ago before I died. His laughter filled my body and I smiled too. In hotels I even had to check the closet.
Merle had his eyes closed, his expression didn't gave away anything. Daryl looked at me and finally there was a small smile on his lips. "Monsters under the bed?!"
"You do know they walk around us all the time, don't you?" Abraham sat across of me giving one of his famous laughs. "Don't freak out the next time you see these monsters."
I didn't reply, but Rosita who was sitting next to him stood up for me smiling. "Bad ass won't freak out, she knows how to kill them." The moment she said the words Daryl looked at her, even Merle had one eye open to examine her.
"Sounds familiar." Merle closed his eye again relaxing.
"Haven't heard that one in a while." Daryl's eyes finally lit up.
In the back I heard Carol on the radio. She was sitting at the car, the radio device in her hand, trying to communicate with Rick. Was Noah finally reunited with his family? The last time we had heard of them was when they had been almost there, telling us they would hide the car somewhere in the woods and go the rest by food. I just hoped there wasn't a bad surprise, like Noah's group was armed to the teeth and not well-disposed.
Noah didn't say something like that. He said they were all good people.
"Yeah and I would say our group is mild-mannered too. But if you ask other people – the governor or Tara's folks for example – I think they would be dissenting." I snappishly told my brother silently.
Rosita still looked at me. "If this shit wouldn't have happened, what would you have become?" She examined my body.
"Who knows …" I told her but her glance was persistent. Even Abraham was looking at me with a curious face.
"Spit it out." Abraham leaned forward. "Or do you have a nasty past?"
"I honestly don't know." Since when was I friends with them? I hadn't really talked to them and now they were as friendly as can be.
Everyone deserves his place in this group. My brother reminded me. This is not only a group of outlanders but a family – a weird family not related by blood. But a family nonetheless.
"Come on, there is nothing to do, tell us!" Abraham urged.
I let his words linger in my mind for a while. "Maybe a dancer." I looked to the ground in front of me. "I loved music."
"Sexy." Abraham stated. Daryl shot him a mad glance, but I laughed at Abraham's comment.
"And what have you been doing?" Carl asked now joining our little pseudo support group. He still carried Judith in his arms while the little girl giggled and tried to grab his nose.
Hadn't I ever talked about my past? Not even at camp? I couldn't quiet remember … But the word camp reminded me of a happy time with Amy. I closed my eyes and there it was – Amy's smiling face. I had almost forgotten about her … and Andrea. I didn't want to forget them. "Everything … to support my lifestyle, I was giving gym courses, dance lessons and so on." I hadn't thought about my past in quite a while now. "I even drove to a bar a few miles from my hometown just to make some money."
"I knew it." Merle sat up.
"What?" My eyes popped open.
"I knew ya ass … a striptease dancer." He laughed.
Daryl was about to grab his brother, but I held him back. "In your dreams!" I shot back. "I only served drinks, worked behind the counter." I had been driving so far so nobody would know me. My mother would have died if she would have known I had been working at a bar. There only had been truckers and bikers, nothing indecent. I couldn't risk ruin my parents reputation but I needed the money. Reminding me of my past I felt the urge to dance again, felt a prickling under my skin, in my very bones. I had loved to dance, it had been my life. Maybe that was why it was so easy to talk about it. Otherwise I wouldn't just open up like this to them.
Maybe it is the starvation that makes you headless.
Daryl looked me over and his eyes stopped where my tattoo was hidden. He must remember the ballet shoes, the things I had told him and smiled. He would always be the person I could tell my past, the one to lean on. I rested my head on his shoulder and relaxed.
"That's why you asked me 'to bring some music'." Carl almost screamed. "At prison …" He started to explain. "When I went on a supply run, you asked me to 'bring home some music'." He imitated me.
I laughed, I had already forgotten I had asked him. "Yeah." The atmosphere was starting to lighten up a bit. I saw some smiles and suddenly we talked about better things, forgetting death for a while.
Sasha joined our circle. "This is the damn apocalypse. Behave like that." Her dark eyes were looking at us punishingly. "Your joyful talk is nothing but imagination. Nothing will ever be like it was." She turned. "Nothing!" Not even Tyrese could calm the dark thoughts inside her. Her absent eyes couldn't fix on the things she still had.
"But we are still here!" I told her. "You still have your brother, your family. Ain't that something to be happy about?" But Sasha just stared at me. She looked from me to Daryl and back to me. Maybe the fact we were a couple made her remember Bob.
I think she thinks about him all the time. About his death. She wears his jacket which reminds her of him all the time. The way she behaves … there is a sweeping darkness inside her heart, an emptiness.
Before she could walk away Carol ran towards us "They're coming back." But her voice wasn't happy at all, it was alarming. "We have to hurry!" She seemed to be only talking to Sasha.
"What happened?" Sasha asked, her eyes suddenly clear again.
"We have to hurry." Carol told us again and was already back at the car. We took our belongings and drove as fast as possible towards Noah's home. Carol was behind the steering wheel. Sasha had tried to talk to her, but Carol didn't react only staring at the street ahead.
We came to a sudden halt. Daryl immediately opened the door. When we excited the car we saw the reason why we had to hurry. Tyrese was lying on the street bathed in blood. Michonne was sitting next to him, her katana was lying on the ground bloody. So she had been the one to free him. Rick was standing at her side, his hands behind his head and his red eyes on Tyrese. Glenn and Noah stood beside him with the same wet expression.
"There ain't nothin' to be happy about." Sasha passed me and fell on her knees next to her brother.
Again we were at a grave, again Gabriel was citing from the bible. He had lost a lot but he still had his little bible. The others were shattered again, not only because of Tyrese's death, but of the false hope of Noah's save heaven. Hope had again crashed them. This time I wasn't swimming in the same void. Hope was for dreamers.
Haven't you been dreaming to dance again … just a few minutes ago? You were hoping for some music, hoping for a time where to be happy again.
That was different, they had been hoping Noah's place was safe, a new home. I hadn't had the same hope. While their hope shattered in front of their eyes, I was only shattered because of Tyrese death.
I stood a few feet away from the grave, hiding behind all the others, so I didn't have to look into it. Sasha looked down on the grave, I couldn't see if she was crying. The scene in front of me was just like a week ago. It reminded me so much of Beth's grave, her funeral.
Your freezing nature is heartwarming. Why are you standing apart instead of standing with the others at the grave? Grieve together.
I couldn't … I had to distance myself from the grave, from death. I had sworn to them to not let anyone die again. And yet another one of our group was dead …
It was not your fault, you haven't even been there to protect him. I mean – as if you could avoid death to sneak in. This is the fucking apocalypse and things like this happen … I am sorry they happen but look around: Death is around you no matter what you do. You can't protect everyone. Something you'd better understand: Death is walking around you and can strike every second.
I shook my head trying to get rid of his words. Merle was the only one not really participating in the funeral. He stood at a tree with crossed arms. "What are ya doing?" Daryl came to stand next to me. He gave me small shovel. It was my turn …
"I can't …" Suddenly my stone cold heart was aching. "I told Sasha to be happy because she still got her brother." My hand trembled and I almost dropped the shovel. "And now …"
Daryl took my hand. "Ya didn't know." He told me. "Come on." He carefully pulled me to the grave. His voice didn't give away his feelings, but his eyes did. Was it dismay in his eyes? The death of Beth had affected him and Tyrese's death seemed to have given him the rest. I didn't fight him when he pulled me along. I was rather thankful he accompanied me walking to the grave. When I looked down a whitish sheet covered Tyrese's body. You could still see his arm and a bit of his left side where he normally carried his hammer. Sending a silent prayer for his soul I shoveled sand on his lifeless body and couldn't avert my eyes until Daryl took the shovel out of my hand to pass it on to Sasha who was the last to pay respect to Tyrese.
We stepped to the side. Daryl out one arm around me – maybe not knowing what to say. But I didn't need words, his warmth was enough comfort. And the moment I felt him tremble slightly, my hug tightened. He was my tower of strength and now I wanted to be nothing more than his. "We'll ride that out." My voice didn't sound as confident as I had wanted it to be. I watched Sasha how she held the shovel in one hand, the sand falling slowly onto her brother. It was almost in slow motion, her movement unsure. Then she let the shovel fall to the ground and slowly moved away from the grave. Rick went back to the grave to finish the job. I stared at the cross at the head of the grave. Carl had put Tyrese woolen hat on the wooden cross. My eyes were glued to it. I never had the chance to tell him about Jess. He had been so eager to find him.
Maybe it is better that he didn't know. He was holding onto something that didn't exist.
Minutes passed – maybe hours – where everyone dealt with Tyrese's death. And in the end we slowly gathered around the bus. Noah's eyes were now as absent as Sasha's and Maggie's. Tyrese had been his friend, there had been a special bond.
Rick was the first to talk again, telling us about Noah's home. "They were attacked, their bodies were in a van … their arms and legs in a different place. It was crazy … a W was carved on their foreheads." Noah didn't even move. "The place is gone." Noah shook his head slightly and covered his ears.
"What now?" I asked.
"We will find a new place." Michonne told everyone. Right now she seemed to be the only one believing her words. "We all take the bus and drive to Washington. Eugene believed there is something." I looked from Michonne to Eugene who tried to hide behind Abraham.
We were 16 people and a baby in a small damn bus. The air was stifling – too many people in one vehicle. I sat between Glenn and Daryl, well almost on Daryl's lap, opposite of me sat Eugene who was staring at me. I held his gaze until I got tired. I would prefer to sit on the top of the car than seeing Eugene another second. Eugene … I remembered when we had been reunited after Beth's death. I remembered how I had been walking over to the military couple Abraham and Rosita, where Eugene had stood close. "What about Washington …" Eugene had immediately stepped backwards with wide eyes. I would never forget how this big tall human idiot had almost stumbled over his own legs.
Wow, so many cruel words in one sentence for one man. You really can't stand him, can you?
"There is no cure." Glenn had told to me. He had been holding a sobbing Maggie on the ground. I would never forget that picture too.
"But …" I had started but Glenn had shook his head. "But …" I had whispered more to myself. All I had hoped for had trembled …
This is still not the end. See something good in this: You had Carol back, you all had been reunited. Despite all the setbacks there is still a family.
No we were not reunited. Beth was dead. Talking of her I saw the picture of her lifeless shell lingering in Daryl's arms. I saw the exit wound in her head. I had a feeling back then … a silent fury had taken over me. Now Tyrese was dead too.
The group is whole again. My brother had tried to calm me, but this damn lie, this damn crashing-hopes lie had shattered my people again. Right now the same fury started to boil inside me. The more Eugene starred at me, the more the fury grew.
You are stronger than this. This group is stronger than this. You will survive like you have always done.
"What the fuck." I told my brother silently. "You're talking an awful load of crab." This was real life now, zombimania forever. I had been so naïve …
Put yourself together woman! That was days ago. We have already hash and rehash that issue. Now you are all together looking for a new home, longing for a new start. You know what is outside, expect the worst but hope for the best. That's what we've always done.
I tried to swallow the fury. Was it so damn hard to be lucky?
Look around and you see what life is about these days. It is about these people around you. About the shelter you give each other. What was it that Andrea had said to you …?
"Home is where your friends give you comfort and warmth." My thoughts drifted to Andrea. I lingered in the moment until I looked to Daryl. He fixed Eugene too, but his glance was dark. When I moved slightly Daryl's eyes were on me. I smiled at him, he was my shelter, my home, my family. I rested my head on his chest and felt Daryl relaxing under me. He sighed and put an arm around me. There needn't to be any words.
I didn't know how many hours had passed or how many kilometers we had been driving or had it been days? I was damn hungry and thirsty. And the thick air in the bus didn't benefit our mental health. Suddenly the engine made a croaking sound to tell us we were out of gas. The bus rolled slowly over the asphalt until it made a weird sound and came to a halt.
"What now?" Abraham's voice sounded through the bus. .
"We walk!" Rick answered in his Sheriff like manner.
I was glad we finally opened the door to step out. It had been warm inside the bus and even all the windows had been open the air was thick of distress. But it was warm outside too and the air not really better. When I put my feet on the street I took a deep breath and stretched my arms and legs.
"Is this some porn show?" Merle croaked behind me.
Daryl went passed us and elbowed him slightly. "We should gather some food and water before we go on." What he meant was we had to regain strength first before we would set out to wherever. I still felt lost in some kind of no-man's-land. We had no more water and I couldn't think of any food either. We had given it all to Judith. But the little girl needed meat too, fresh food and not some canned shit. "Me and Merle will walk that way." Daryl pointed to his right. "Be back in two hours max." I wondered who would stop the time. No one of us had a watch, so how should we know when two hours would be over? He didn't say my name so I looked up, but he gave me quick kiss on the top of my head. "Be right back." He nodded to his brother and on they walked on.
I looked over my shoulder and the sun blinded me. It had not only been warm in the car outside it was damn hot outside too. The look on the faces of the others wasn't getting any better. I even thought I had heard how Noah had been sobbing in the bus. Before Tyrese's death he had been pretty easy to talk to, now he was absent. "I'll go stretch my legs too." I said not knowing whom I was talking to.
"I'm coming with you." Glenn told me. At first we walked silently together down the road. Until he walked into the woods. "Let's go left, maybe we'll find something there."
"Okay big bro." I told him and followed him through the woods. "It's like back at camp."
He finally looked up. His exhausted expression changed to a tired smile. "Yeah." Our pace was slow but our hands were on our weapons ready to fight. There weren't any walkers around. I wondered where they had gone off to. Normally at least a dozen would have ruined our day by now. Maybe the sun was too powerful for them too.
Isn't it enough that you are out of gas?
That was a downer but we still had feet to walk, nothing we couldn't handle.
Where is the good mood coming from?
Since my brother had reminded me of Andrea's words and the fact that I was with Daryl was enough for me to go on. I had to be happy with what I got right now. Because it was all I got at all. My friends, my family and the few things I got in my bag pack. I knew we were in a damn situation but it wasn't hopeless. Somehow this feeling was familiar.
Ha, now you said it yourself. I thought you would avoid this four-letter-word until the end of time. HOPE.
"How are you?" Glenn interrupted my silent conversation.
"Been better." I smiled. There was a rustling to our right. Normally I would have thought it might be a walker, but I was so hungry I was hoping for a dear, a rabbit or at least something to eat. But I was wrong, it were three walkers. We hadn't had the energy to walk over to them, so we waited until they had slurped over to us. They weren't fast and pretty skinny, maybe had starved to death. What an irony. I stabbed the first one easily, Glenn the second appearing walker and the last one tripped over a tree root and fell down. Glenn smashed its head. "Team work!" I raised my hand to high five, but Glenn just stared at me. I still held out my hand and waited. With a smiling sigh he finally high fived me. "Come on Glenn, we'll make it." My words were slowly coming out of my mouth. "We always did."
"How come you are so sure about it?" We started walking again.
"I survived far too much to dry out or starve to death." I told him. "You too. You survived the governor, an exploding prison and you fought your way to your girl." A small smile appeared on his lips. "You found love in the apocalypse, isn't this enough to go on?" Talking was kind of straining and the words came out even slower.
"Is it?" He asked me. "Is that why you go on?" His voice sounded weak too.
"Yes." I honestly stated.
"And you are not avoiding my questions." He stopped walking and tired eyes looked at me. "Who are you?"
"I am Ella, the fuckin' bad ass of this group." I cited Rosita. I had missed Glenn, had missed our talks. It had always been easy to talk to him and now was no different.
He is your big brother, taking my place now that I can't be with you.
"Great to have that side of you back." We walked on. "We hadn't had a talk in a while. We hadn't talked since …" He stopped for a second. "I can't even remember …"
"There is a lot going on. The death of Beth, now Tyrese." Again there was a rustling, but it were only the leaves in the wind. No walker and no animal or any walking food. "Maggie needs you." Glenn nodded wearing the exhausted hungry expression again.
I wanted to go on and ask about Maggie, but he straightened his back and looked left. "Did you hear that?" Before I could answer or try to hear what he heard, he walked left. He walked faster than before. "It sounds like water."
And what would that sound like? I almost couldn't keep up with him. He was suddenly damn fast. "Wait." But there was no stopping him. A weird smell was in the air. Our walk slowed down. "What is that smell?" The smell was stinging.
"Definitely no fresh cookies." Glenn still walked on while I wanted to stop.
"Why are we going there?" I threw after Glenn.
"Fuck!" Glenn sighed. He leaned on a tree, his eyes ahead. "I hoped we could clean the water …"
"Clean the water?" I asked for more explanation.
"Rosita had taught us how to filter the water from a lake. Eugene had taught her how to do it." He sighed. "But this water is not drinkable." On one hand I wanted to ask who he meant by 'us' and on the other hand I wanted to know how. Maybe that idiot could really be an advantage in the apocalypse.
I told you so …
I ignored my brother to follow Glenn's glance. We were standing at a small like, some dead fish were floating in the water and dead one's were lying around it. I wouldn't even dare to swim in it. "This damn apocalypse." The hunger in my stomach and the stench made me retch. I turned around to get out of this cloud of poisoned air. After a few steps I hurled. "Ugh!" It was only colored mucous.
What did you expect? A fried chicken? Half eaten French Fries? A burger?
Glen patted my back which only made it worse. He offered me his bottle, but I shoved it aside. I took my own bottle. There was only little left. I took a small sip, but it didn't wash away the disgusting taste in my mouth.
"We need water!" Glenn looked back to the lake. "Maybe there is a river close."
When have we ever been that lucky? It was Bob's voice echoing in my mind again. 'Hope dies last.' Was on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't say the words.
We strayed around the lake in a safe distance so we hadn't had to smell the stench no more, but there was no river flowing into the lake. No miracle water fountain and no water bottles were waiting for us.
We returned to our group with nothing but disappointment. At least I got the feeling back that between me and Glenn nothing would ever change. And although I was hungry and thirsty which was driving me mad, I was glad I lived through it with my friends.
Did you like this - rather uneventful - chapter? But don't give up on me, the next chapter is almost finished. See you soon!